Physical Characteristics:
The pygmy shrew is the smallest mammal In North
America ana among the smallest in the world by weight. Adults weigh
approximately the same as a dime. The fur is grayish-brown above
and grayish below. The tail is indistinctly bi-colored. Shrews
possess long tapering snouts and tiny eyes
and ears. Hearing and smell are acute. The tips of the incisor
teeth are dark chestnut in color. Shrews have five toes on each foot.

The pygmy shrew ranges from the Gaspe Peninsula across Canada to Alaska
and south to northeastern Washington, northwestern Montana, Iowa, southern
Wisconsin, and Ohio. The range includes New England and extends southward
along the Appalachian Mountain chain into northern Georgia.

Range Maps

North America

Great Smokies

Great Smoky Mountains National Park:
The pygmy shrew is one of the rarest shrews in the park. It was
not until 1968 that a previously unreported specimen was discovered in the
collections of the University of Illinois Museum of Natural History
(Hoffmeister, 1968). It had been taken on September 6,
1941 at Newfound Gap, Swain County, North Carolina. No other individuals were
recorded until 1991 when six shrews were taken along the Foothills Parkway
(Sevier Co.) at Cove Creek ( 1,430 feet ), King Hollow Branch
( 1,700 to 1,800 feet ), and Caney Creek ( 1,800 to 2,100 feet )
(Harvey, 1991).

Reproduction
Breeding probably extends from about March to September. Females probably
produce more than one litter annually. Litter sizes range from 2 to 8.
Shrew nests are about 6 to 8 inches in diameter with a 2 to 4 inch inside
diameter. They are composed of finely shredded grasses and leaves. Young
are weaned and independent at 4 weeks of age.

Longevity
Pygmy shrews probably do not live longer than 16 to 18 months.

Terrestrial Ecology
Pygmy shrews feed on small arthropods such as grasshoppers and
beetles, worms, and on limited amounts of seeds and berries. Occasionally
they eat carrion (Long, 1999).

Harvey, M.J. 1991. Survey for threatened and endangered mammals on the
right-of- way of proposed segment 8D of the Foothills Parkway. Report
to the Environmental Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory,
Oak Ridge, Tennessee.